Survival kits, especially for use in aircraft ejection seats, commonly include a sleeping bag and preferably one made with goose down. To be effective, the sleeping bag should be tightly packed in a container which is small and light weight and which provides a secure closure, reliable long term storage and reliable opening. The bag should also be easily removable from the container since the crew may have suffered injuries before, during or after the ejection. In addition, the sleeping bag itself should be capable of being compressed into a small container and yet effective after removal therefrom. The packing techniques for such a sleeping bag should also insure that the installed sleeping bag is not damaged. While there have been various attempts at providing all of these advantages, there is still room for improvement in providing a container for a compressed sleeping bag and an apparatus and method for so compressing the bag into the container.